When my brother and I were kids, my mother latch hooked stockings for us from kits. We all look forward to seeing them every year. So when Ian was born, she started looking for a kit so I could make him a stocking. She quickly learned that They Do Not Make Them Any More. Everywhere she went she heard things like, “oh, no one latch hooks amy more,” which is ridiculous. Because you can find PLENTY of latch hook kits online or in catalogs and some craft stores, but not one that makes a stocking. I have a feeling that this particular item was pretty special. After hunting high and low, I decided I didn’t need no stinking kit.

I ordered some kits off eBay that had enough canvas, I ordered latch hook yarns in the colors I needed. I ordered a latch hook, TWICE because I lost the first one. And I free-handed the design from a holiday photo. Guess what. It turns out I Do Not Enjoy Latch Hook Very Much. So I finally finished the latch hook last year, but not in time to finish the stocking. Guess who was hand sewing green fleece onto the back of a stocking on Christmas Eve? So when I noticed I’d seen the loop on the wrong side, I just said… Well, I won’t repeat that. But there you are. It remains to be seen whether I have another one in me.